Few places on earth are as satisfying for a history- or monument-buff as Uzbekistan. Located on a major Silk Road thoroughfare, its history is rich with ambitious satraps and conquerors, all of whom, it seems, were eager to leave proof of their greatness. Uzbekistan’s capital, Tashkent, is, for the eager traveler, little more than a gateway to the three great Silk Road cities—Samarkand (home to the noble Registan), Bukhara (the Second Mecca) and Khiva (with sky-blue domes and minarets)—that make Uzbekistan so compelling.